ALBUMS by five Welsh supergroups have made it into a poll of the 100 best British rock albums of all time - with four albums coming in the top 25.

The highest ranking heavy rock CD from our homegrown brigade is the Manic Street Preachers' seminal work, The Holy Bible. Storming in at number 10, the album from the then four-piece from Blackwood tops offerings from the Welsh contingent as voted for by fans of weekly music magazine, Kerrang!

Deputy editor Paul Brannigan believes fans of the Manics voted in their thousands for the album because they regard it as the last will and testament of missing Manic Richey Edwards.

"It's up there as one of the best albums of all time and is widely regarded as a masterpiece, alongside Nevermind by Nirvana," he said.

"It spoke of unease and the cult of Richey and people will always go back to that, because he's no longer around."

Richey, who disappeared near the Severn Bridge 10 years ago, wrote most of the lyrics, and they add up to one of the bleakest and most lacerating documents in rock 'n' roll history.

From the litany of self-loathing in the anorexic's saga 4st 7lbs to the ghastly sleepwalk through the Holocaust in The Intense Humming of Evil, it is arguably the Manics' most successful album to date.

Other Welsh acts to appear in the top 100 include Feeder, who come from Chepstow, Lostprophets and Funeral For A Friend from Pontypridd and Cwmaman's Stereophonics.

Lostprophets' Start Something was voted 18th best album in the world.

Stereophonics' Performance and Cocktails romps home at number 23, the Manics return again at number 24 with Everything Must Go, while Feeder's Echo Park slides in at 25.

Mr Brannigan says there's a proliferation of Welsh acts in the list because young people are able to identify with the heartfelt, unpretentious, and honest qualities in their songs.

He said, "Kids today are more likely to identify with a bunch of Welsh rockers talking about life and stuff, than they are with American rock bands singing about problems with their surf-boards.

"That said, the Welsh acts aren't really parochial.

"The Phonics, for example, have moved on from the type of songs they did in Performance and Cocktails, but people can still identify with them.

"Feeder are massively popular. Although they've mellowed a bit now, we all love them because they do what they do so well.

"None of the Welsh bands, I would say, are flag-flying nationalists.

"But there's an element, of course, of where they come from in what they do. And people obviously like that."

The complete 100, which will be announced in full in the magazine today, is topped by Black Sabbath.

The band which brought us Ozzy Osbourne made the number one spot with their self-titled debut released in 1970.

The Brummie rocker features four times with Black Sabbath and twice as a solo artist.

His album Blizzard of Ozz is at number 16 and Diary of a Madman is at 33.

Osbourne said Black Sabbath making the number one spot was a triumph for British rock.

"Back then you'd hear, 'If you go to San Francisco, be sure to wear a flower in your hair'," he said. "And we were like, 'What the **** are they on about?'

"We lived in Aston, Birmingham, in drizzly rain. The only flowers I ever saw were on a gravestone in our local cemetery."

The top 100 features a mix of heavy metal, punk and glam rock.

Iron Maiden came second with Number of the Beast, followed by Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin's IV.

Brit winners Muse also appear in the top 10 with Absolution, along with London Calling by The Clash, Sheer Heart Attack by Queen and Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden.

Kerrang! editor Ashley Bird added, "It's amazing to see so many incredible homegrown albums in one list, and without any of the abysmal fashion bands that currently clog up the music scene.

"These are the real opinions of proper rock fans."

The top 25 rock album of all time as voted for by readers of Kerrang! magazine: